


i just wanna know you better now

by LeoTheAvengingLioness333



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Because I can, F/M, also steve and bucky meeting trip gave me feelings, also trip is alive, and Pietro, and then i remembered that they're another one of my crack ships and well, basically daisy and trip are bffs with the avengers, but it's light angst!, but it's really cute and fluffy and it's been so long since i've written strict fluff, i was having daisy johnson feelings, it's more friendship with some flirting, not really sure where this came from, ok so there's a small sprinkling of angst, then bucky barnes feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-10
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2019-03-02 23:57:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13329150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeoTheAvengingLioness333/pseuds/LeoTheAvengingLioness333
Summary: Neither of them expected this, but it turns out they have a lot more in common than they ever thought possible.OrDaisy Johnson is bffs with Bucky Barnes and the other Avengers





	i just wanna know you better now

**Author's Note:**

> So, this happened. This is probably the fluffiest thing I've written in a while and it feels really nice! I might do more with these two in the future because similar past traumas but also cuteness but also badass power couple. Trip is alive because he really didn't need to die and I'm still in denial and also he and Daisy are best friends. Pietro is also alive because I can and also Joss Whedon sucks. 
> 
> Title taken from Taylor Swift's "Everything Has Changed" 
> 
> Enjoy!

            They first met after the events of Sokovia.

            Bucky, like most of the world, had watched the earth rise into the sky on the screen of some television in a local diner, knowing Steve and the Avengers were on it, trying to stop Ultron and save the people in the city. It was about six months after that when Bucky finally made his way to the new Avengers facility in upstate New York. He’d known Steve had been searching for him, of course, but he’d stayed hidden, not showing up until he thought he was ready for it. And maybe he still wasn’t ready, maybe he would never be completely ready to be back in the world, but he couldn’t seclude himself forever.

            About two months after his arrival, a group of SHIELD agents visited the facility. SHIELD wasn’t a recognized organization, not yet, not after Hydra’s reveal, but the underground SHIELD figured a first step would be to familiarize themselves with the Avengers’ facility, the agents who worked there, and the Avengers themselves. Bucky was in the gym when their little tour came through. Steve and Natasha were leading them through the facility, and Bucky paused his workout long enough to look up and count the dozen people that were in the group.

            It was the young woman up front who caught his eye. She had short brown hair that fell to her chin. Her gait had a confident sway to it, and she smiled brightly as she took in the facility, listening to Steve and Natasha. He wasn’t the only person in the gym, but he didn’t want to draw attention to himself. The metal arm was enough of a beacon as it was. Just as he was about to return to his workout, the girl with the short hair and brilliant smile saw him from across the gym. If he was anyone else, he might not have caught the slight stumble in her next couple steps, the way her eyes widened just so. Her smile faltered for a moment, before her features shifted into…recognition? He swallowed, feeling his shoulders tense. Of course she recognized him. He wasn’t just Bucky Barnes. The Winter Soldier had been on the news plenty during the events in D.C., almost two years ago now. This girl worked for SHIELD, too, so she’d probably read all about him in whatever file they had on the Soldier. He was just glad he wasn’t close enough to see the fear in her eyes. Wordlessly, Bucky turned back to the punching bag in front of him, striking the sand filled bag until long after the group had left the gym.

            Later, when he was in the common area, grabbing a snack so he could go hide in his room, he saw her again. Steve had told Bucky that the SHIELD agents were staying overnight, and they must’ve been taking a break from their tour. The girl was walking with Natasha and a tall blonde woman, who Natasha seemed pretty familiar with. Bucky guessed they’d known each other before the fall of SHIELD. He hadn’t really meant to be staring, but the girl looked in his direction, and before he could escape, she excused herself and jogged over to him.

            “Hi,” she greeted. Her brown eyes were as bright as her smile. Bucky found himself smiling a little in response.

            “Hi,” he echoed.

            “I know you don’t me,” she said. “My name’s Daisy. I just, I saw you in the gym earlier and I wanted to say hi, but—anyway…” she trailed off for a moment with a bit of nervous laughter. “You’re Bucky Barnes.”

            Bucky wasn’t sure what she was more surprised by—that she’d actually come up and greeted him, or that she’d called him Bucky Barnes. Not Winter Soldier. Bucky.

            He nodded slowly. “Yeah.” He held out his human hand, and the girl—Daisy—reached forward to shake it. She had a firm grip. “It’s nice to meet you.”

            If possible, she smiled wider at that. “I didn’t mean to be so forward, it’s just that, I read all about you before I joined SHIELD, about your time as Howling Commando and what you did in the war, and, well, you were always one of my heroes.”

            Now _that_ , was definitely what surprised Bucky the most. He wasn’t entirely sure how to respond. Daisy leaned forward on the balls of her feet, then lowered herself back down, her mouth twisting like she wasn’t sure what to say either. Then she laughed a little nervously again.

            She shook her head, not meeting his eyes. “Sorry. It’s just, if some of my old friends could see me now, they would never believe it. I mean I’m in the _Avengers_ facility, meeting _Bucky Barnes_.”

            “Don’t forget about Captain America and Black Widow,” he added with half a smile.

            Daisy grinned. Normally, in this situation, Bucky would be a lot more anxious. New people made him tense. But this girl, there was something about her smile, that made him feel more calm around her than most strangers.

            “Yeah, Captain America has kind of always been my favorite,” she said, giving him her biggest smile yet.

            Bucky nodded. “Yeah, he’s my favorite, too.”

            Her eyebrows quirked up, and then she laughed. An actual laugh—not a hint of nervousness behind it. Any remaining tension in his muscles relaxed. He liked her. She wasn’t afraid of him in the slightest.

            “I should probably go,” she sighed, shrugging a shoulder. “But it was really, really nice to meet you Bucky Barnes.”

            “It was really nice to meet you too, Daisy—”

            “Johnson,” she finished for him.

            “Daisy Johnson.”

            She gave him one last smile, and then turned back to where Natasha and the other agent had wandered off. Bucky waited until she disappeared down another hallway before grabbing his water and snacks and heading out of the kitchen. Bucky found that he was still smiling when he shut he door to his room behind him.

-:-

            They met again a few months later.

            Daisy was there with Trip and Bobbi to help train some new recruits at the Avengers facility. Ever since their first meeting, she’d been looking forward to seeing Bucky again. She didn’t think about him all the time—she was a busy person, with things to do and her own team of Secret Warriors to run—but he would pop into her thoughts from time to time. She’d given him her email the day she left the facility a couple months ago, telling him to stay in touch. He’d smiled, and quietly agreed. So they’d exchanged emails back and forth, and she smiled every time she saw his responses. Trip teased her about it _constantly_ , but she also knew that he was curious. After all, his grandfather had been a Howling Commando, too.

            When they got a little break from training, Daisy hovered around the gym a little longer, hoping to see him. She wondered if he knew about the training sessions that were going on, and decided to avoid the gym. She wasn’t as familiar with the facility as she would like, so tracking him down would take time, and she had another session starting soon—

            But then there he was. He was wearing gym shorts and a long-sleeve workout tee, so that only his metal hand was showing. In his quiet way, he skirted around the edge of the gym, heading for one of the punching bags along the back wall. Daisy turned and grabbed Trip’s arm with hardly an explanation.

            “Whoa, girl, where’re we going?” he asked with a laugh, following along dutifully.

            She smirked over her shoulder at him. “You never believe me when I say I’m friends with Bucky Barnes—”

            “I never said that—”

            “Well, I’m going to prove it to you.”

            She led him towards the back of the gym, slowing her pace and making sure she approached from the side so Bucky could see her coming. As she and Trip approached, he turned. She could see his shoulders tighten up just so, but when he recognized her, he relaxed, a small smile quirking up the corners of his mouth.

            “Daisy Johnson,” he greeted.

            “Bucky Barnes.” She smiled, nudging Trip forward, who was staring at Bucky a little too obviously. But it was understandable. She’d stared when she’d first seen Bucky too. I mean she’d read all about Bucky even before SHIELD recruited her. She could still remember the day she saw his name on the wall of the fallen. “I’d like you to meet my best friend, Antoine Triplett. He’s the one I mentioned in my emails.”

            Trip looked at her, grinning. “I’m your best friend? Ha, can’t wait to tell Mack.”

            She nudged him with her elbow, fighting a smile. “Shut up.”

            Trip looked back at Bucky then, taking a step forward with his hand held out. Bucky hesitated momentarily before lifting his metal hand. Trip didn’t even flinch when he gripped the artificial limb and shook it. When Trip’s hand fell back at his side, he smiled. “You’re Bucky Barnes. Sergeant Bucky Barnes. Daisy’s been talking about you, but I still couldn’t believe it. I mean my grandpa used to tell stories about you and Cap all the time, so I just want to say that this is truly an honor.”

            Trip was smiling, his voice gentle with emotion. When she looked at Bucky, his eyes were shining, brow wrinkled in slight confusion. Almost subconsciously, Daisy took half a step forward.

            Bucky shifted on his feet, blanching. “Your grandpa?”

            Trip gave him a crooked smile. “Yeah. He was a Howling Commando, too. Private Gabe Jones, sir.”

            Daisy smiled to herself. The added ‘sir’ was such a Trip thing to do. Always the gentleman. She glanced at Bucky again. He was at a loss for words. Her heart squeezed in her chest seeing the tears glimmering, unshed, in his eyes. She couldn’t even imagine what he was going through. Everyone he—and Steve Rogers—knew was gone. But to be able to see the lasting legacy of the people they left behind, to see that their friends had lived their lives to the fullest after the war, it must’ve been an impossible feeling to comprehend.

            “You’re Gabe’s grandson,” Bucky said finally, the words coming out on a quiet breath.

            “Yes, sir.”

            “He—” Bucky swallowed. Daisy noticed the slight tremble in his human hand. “He was a good man. And a really good friend.”

            Trip smiled, and Daisy thought she saw her friend’s eyes shining a little bit too. “Thank you. That really means a lot for you to say that. He thought the same of you. And the Captain.”

            “Speaking of,” Bucky said, clearing his throat. “I don’t know how long you guys are here for, but Steve will be back from a mission tomorrow.” He looked at Trip. “He would really like to meet you. It would mean a lot to him. Means a lot to me.”

            Trip grinned. “I would love that.”

            “We’re here for two more days,” Daisy said, answering Bucky’s question.

            Bucky smiled a little wider, looking between the two of them. “Besides, Daisy here isn’t just friends with me. She’s got a pretty good in with the good Captain and Black Widow, too.”

            Trip looked at her, eyes wide. “You didn’t tell me that.”

            She shrugged, trying not to laugh. “What can I say? They liked me. I didn’t want to brag.”

            “Didn’t want to brag,” Trip muttered mockingly, and she really did laugh then. He poked her in her side, and she danced a few steps away, giggling. “This is huge! You’re friends with, like, half the Avengers!”

            She could feel Bucky watching the two of them as she stepped back over and bumped her hip against Trip’s. “Well, don’t worry, Trip, I won’t leave you for the Avengers.”

            He chuckled. “I don’t know. They’re pretty cool. Maybe you think they’re better than we are—”

            “Shut up,” she laughed, pushing against his chest, back towards the center of the gym. “Come on, you weirdo, break’s over.” Daisy looked over her shoulder at Bucky. He gave her a crooked smile. “See you later, Barnes.”

            “See you later, Johnson.”

            -:-

            “So, you and Trip, huh?”

            Daisy tipped her head at Bucky, giving him a look. “It’s not like that.” He was smirking a little. He was in a good mood today. She wasn’t entirely sure how she could tell; it’s not like she’d spent days or weeks spending time with him. But from his emails, she had started to pick up on when he had good and bad days. He was more talkative today, more teasing. She and Trip had eaten lunch with him earlier, after they’d finished up with their second training set of the morning, and the two of them had really hit it off.

            Now, they were in the common area, hanging out. It was nice, the quiet, after the bustle of the day. Trip was sitting with Bobbi, Wanda, and Pietro on the couches, making Wanda laugh with the stories he was telling. She had introduced Trip to Wanda—because okay, yeah, she had an in with, like, all the Avengers, and she and Wanda had hit it off really well—and now Trip was being his usual charming self, and basically making everyone love him. Soon, she wouldn’t be the only one with the Avengers on speed dial. Coulson might get jealous. The thought made her smile.

            She had been sitting at the kitchen island, drinking a beer and just enjoying a moment to herself when Bucky came up to her. She pulled out of her thoughts and said, “He’s just a friend.”

            He nodded, still smiling a little, but deciding not to tease her.

            “He almost died,” she said suddenly, looking down at the beer bottle in her hands. “Almost a year ago now, I think.”

            _It was my fault_ , she didn’t say. But when she met Bucky’s eyes, she wondered if he could tell anyway. She hadn’t told Bucky she was Inhuman yet. It just hadn’t come up naturally in conversation yet. And truth be told, it was kind of nice to talk with someone who didn’t know and wouldn’t judge her for it. When she’d transformed, Trip had still been down in the alien city, disarming the bombs. The earthquake she’d caused had nearly buried him in rubble. While she’d been in quarantine, he’d been in the med bay for nearly two weeks, recovering.

            “He’s my best friend, and I almost lost him,” she admitted. “It’s a long story, but, we’re close. I feel like I can tell him anything. And he’s the kind of guy that always knows how to make you feel better.”

            He and Fitz, they’d been the first to know about her powers, and without them, without their kindness and understanding and lack of judgement, she didn’t know if she would have been able to get through those first weeks.

            “Sounds like a good friend,” Bucky said gently. “I don’t know him as well as you do, but first impressions…he’s a good man.”

            She smiled wide. “The best.”

            Bucky glanced over her shoulder briefly. She could hear the others laughing behind her. “Well,” Bucky said with a smile, “I like him. And I think the others do, too. He’s charming the pants off everyone on base.”

            Daisy tipped her head, grinning. “Yeah, that’s kind of his thing.”

            “Kind of your thing, too.”

            She playfully narrowed her eyes. “Was that a compliment? Why, Barnes, are you flirting with me?”

            Bucky raised his eyebrows, then laughed, louder than she’d ever heard him laugh before. “Honestly, I wouldn’t have a clue if I was. I think the last time I flirted with someone was in the 1940s.”

            Daisy gave him a bright smile, glad they had a few more days together.

-:-

            Two days later Bucky was in the locker room with Daisy, Trip already having left. Daisy and Trip had just finished up their last training session. Daisy had asked him to help—he’d agreed, albeit a little reluctantly. Though he hadn’t known her very long, he trusted her, and was comfortable around her. Strangers, not so much. He was getting better, but sometimes it was hard not to let his instincts get the better of him. But it was a weapons training course, and she’d thought he’d be perfect to help with some demonstrations, and give her and Trip an extra hand.

            Really, it hadn’t been so bad. He’d actually _enjoyed_ himself. The other agents didn’t really seem scared of him. Just determined to get their training right. He was just a little sad to see Daisy go. She and Trip were set to leave in an hour, and Bucky wasn’t sure when he would see her—or any of them—next. He didn’t think he was the only one who would miss them, either. All the other Avengers really had taken a liking to Daisy, and now Trip, too, had charmed his way into all their hearts. He knew Steve for sure was a little bummed to see Trip go. Yesterday, when the two of them had met, they’d spent _hours_ talking. Bucky had been there when Steve met the kid, had caught the indescribable look of tragedy and pure joy in Steve’s eyes as his usually steady hands shook at his sides. Bucky was sure it was the same look he’d given Trip.

            Either way, Bucky was sure they’d see the young agents around again. Even if it meant the Avengers had to invent an excuse to get them there.

            Bucky turned to ask Daisy if she knew when she would be back upstate, but his voice got stuck in his throat. She was wearing a sports bra, rooting around in her duffle for her shirt. He’d turned around to give her some privacy, and though he noted the way her short hair fell around her face, the curve of her hips and the visible strength in her body, that wasn’t what caught his attention. It was the two scars across her abdomen—two pale circles of slightly puckered flesh, smaller scars, probably from surgery, spider-webbing out.

            “Who gave you those?” he choked out, feeling anger swirl in his stomach. No, he hadn’t known Daisy long. But he’d known her long enough to know she could take care of herself, and he also knew that it’d been long enough for him to care about her.

            She looked up at him, brown eyes bright, despite the line of confusion creasing her brow. She started to smile when she registered the look on his face. “What—?” she started to ask, then looked down at her stomach when she noticed where his gaze was trained. She touched the scars absently, as if she’d forgotten they were there. “These? Oh, well, they’re bullet holes. I got shot.”

            She tried to say it lightly, like it didn’t matter. But he could hear the slight edge to her voice. Shots like that, even despite the small caliber, where they were…they would’ve nearly killed her. Probably _should_ have killed her.

            “I know what they are,” Bucky responded quietly, fisting his hands. He took a breath. She was alive, she was clearly fine. There was no need for him to get so angry. He unclenched his fingers. “How did it happen?”

            Daisy shrugged, slipping on the shirt she’d found in her bag. It fell over her abdomen, covering the scars. “Some guy named Ian Quinn. I went it without back-up, which was really stupid. I didn’t really think he’d do it, but guess I misread him. Which, I was fairly new at the whole SHIELD agent thing, but still. Shot me and left me for dead.”

            Bucky gritted his teeth. “Did you ever catch him?”

            “We arrested him,” she explained. Her mouth twisted, and her gaze turned distant for a moment. When she looked at him again, there was a hint of sadness there. “Then SHIELD fell. And he got away. I think he’s scared of us because we haven’t heard seen a trace of him since, but still kind of sucks.”

            “Well,” Bucky said slowly, “I hope you catch him someday.”

            She grinned, and Bucky got the feeling that she knew something he didn’t. “Oh, we will. Eventually. And when we do, I’ve got a few new tricks up my sleeve, so he won’t be getting away.”

            He smiled back. “Glad to hear it.”

-:-

            He didn’t see her for a long time, and when he does, there was a heaviness weighing on her shoulders that wasn’t there before. They hadn’t emailed or texted or anything for months. Though they’d taken to checking in on each other pretty regularly, he just assumed she was busy. She was an important person at SHIELD and he was doing his own stuff with the Avengers, but still. He’d missed her. That realization didn’t surprise him as much as he thought it would.

           Her hair was longer, darker, and there were shadows under her eyes, reflected in them. It was a look he’d seen all too many times looking in the mirror. Since Daisy got on base—he heard from Natasha that she was going to be here for a few days with some other agents to discuss the beginnings of the Accords—she’d been avoiding him. That’s how he knew something was wrong.

          Well, that, and how a few months ago he’d put together that she was vigilante the press had called Quake.

          He wasn’t mad at her, about anything. He just wanted to talk to her. He’d missed talking to her, because it was just so easy. She’d known who he was from day one, but she’d still called him Bucky. Not Winter Soldier, not Hydra, not a killer. He was just Bucky to her, and he always had been. They’d talked about so much in their emails—her past, the foster homes, joining SHIELD and the family she found there, Hydra and the betrayal of some of her friends. And he told her about the war. Things he hadn’t talked to anyone about in a very long time. Well, they were things he’d never really gotten to talk to anyone about, because he’d been Hydra’s prisoner for so long. And even though he didn’t tell her about that other side of him, the Soldier, and even though she didn’t talk much about being an Inhuman, it was okay. They’d connected regardless, and he’d missed that connection while she’d been off the grid.

         Bucky finally managed to catch up to her after lunch. “Daisy!” he called her name, jogging lightly down the hall to meet her. He saw her freeze, turn away from him, trying to think of a reason to make an exit. He reached her before she could walk away, touching her shoulder lightly. “Daisy, please.”

         After a moment, he watched her shoulders shift as she took a breath. She turned slowly, lifting her head slowly to meet his eyes. “Hi.”

         Bucky could see the see the familiar joy in her eyes at seeing him, but it was buried under a lot of sadness. His heart twisted at that. “We should talk.”

         She bit the inside of her lip, shaking her head a little. “I’ve got a meeting—”

         “I know for a fact, Daisy Johnson,” he smirked, lifting an eyebrow at her, “that your next meeting doesn’t start for anther hour.”

         She opened her mouth like a viable excuse might spill out. But after a moment she blushed a little, and relented. “Okay, yeah, you got me.”

         He took her hand. “Come on. Let’s go for a walk.”

         Bucky half expected her to protest still, but she didn’t say anything as he led her outside. They walked slowly, taking their time. Once they were a safe distance away from the facility and they’d slowed to a stop, Bucky let go of her hand. Daisy automatically tucked her arms across her chest. He paused to consider that she might not actually tell him anything, but they’d always been good at talking, and out here, there was no audience, no one to hear them.  

        “What happened?” he asked gently. She was smart, so he was sure she’d know what he meant. What happened in the past few months? What happened to them, their conversations?

        Daisy bit her lip, ducking her head. He waited patiently for a long few minutes. When she finally lifted her head, there were tears shining in her eyes. His heart squeezed and he had the sudden urge to step forward, to wrap his arms around her and hold her until the dark thing in her soul let go.  

        “It’s a long story,” she said. “Basically…there was this _thing_ , an alien, called Hive. It infected me, and I did some really terrible things.” Her chin trembled a little, and she wouldn’t meet his eyes. “It got inside my head and made me feel things and think things that I don’t—I didn’t have control over myself, but I was t-trying to make it right…”

        Bucky did reach for her then, curling his hands over her shoulders before he pulled her in for a hug. She shook against him. He just held her for a few minutes, running his metal hand over her hair as she held on tightly to the back of his shirt.

        He knew exactly how she felt. He knew what it was like having someone else in your head, scrambling things around until you couldn’t tell up from down, right from wrong. You did whatever they asked, felt whatever they made you feel. He knew better than anyone what it was like to not be in control, and hurt the ones you love because of it. It made him sad and angry all at once that she had to experience it.

        “It was supposed to be me,” she sobbed, voice muffled against his chest. “I hurt the people I care about and—and someone else died, and it was supposed to be me that died.”

        His eyes stung, and he wondered if she noticed when a few stray tears dripped down around her. Bucky took a breath, staring off into the distant line of trees as he held his friend in his arms. He didn’t know when he started caring this much, but damn if it didn’t hurt to hear the heartbreak in her voice. He knew then that whoever she’d lost had been incredibly important to her.

        “The person who died,” he started slowly. He’d learned, through his own therapy, that talking about it sometimes helped. And he wanted Daisy to talk to him, wanted to help her. “What was their name?”

        Daisy slowly pulled back, wiping the backs of her hands across her tear-tracked cheeks. “His name was Lincoln. He…he helped me a while back, when I was going through a rough patch and…I loved him,” her voice cracked. “He sacrificed himself to stop Hive.”

       “Sounds like he loved you, too,” Bucky told her gently.

       She sniffled, wiping at her eyes again. Daisy nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, he did.” She paused, staring down at her feet. “Look, Bucky, I have to tell you something,”

       “That you’re an Inhuman,” he guessed.

       She looked up at him, the surprise evident on her face. “Yeah. How’d you know?”

       He shrugged one shoulder, the corner of his mouth quirking up. “I read the news. And, I don’t know, I just had a feeling, I guess. You’re sometimes careful about what you say when you talk.”

       “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” she mumbled.

       “It’s okay,” he reassured. “I get it. You didn’t want that to be my first impression of you. Why do you think I hide my metal arm sometimes? It’s a part of me. I can’t change that, and I’ve accepted it. But I don’t always want that to be the only thing people see when they look at me.”

        She blinked, then smiled slowly. “Exactly,” she said softly, relieved.

        Bucky reached for her hand again. She smoothed her thumb across the metal surface. “I’m sorry about Lincoln, about what happened to you,” he murmured. “Just know that you can talk to me. About anything.”

        She bobbed her head. Then her smile grew just a little teasing. He could still see the heaviness weighing on her, but she seemed just the tiniest bit lighter too. “You saying you were worried about me, Barnes?”

       He chuckled. “Maybe I was, Johnson. Just a little.”

-:-

       A year and a half after Lincoln, Daisy was doing better. She still missed him, still felt that ache in her heart sometimes, but she had moved on and she was happier. Smiling came easy nowadays, so much more so than it had in those months after his death. That was in part because of her team, her friends, and because of Bucky too. When she didn’t have an excuse to go the Avengers facility, they texted constantly. She’d even showed him how to Skype, and they did that whenever they got the chance.

      He helped her in ways that the others couldn’t sometimes. He understood what it was like to have your mind controlled, to have someone dictate what you think and do. Robbie helped her, too, after they were on better terms. Between him and Bucky and the others, she made peace with what happened, resolved the guilt and self-loathing that had eaten her up for months.

      It was nearly Christmas and things had been surprisingly quiet. No huge threats to the globe for them to tackle—just small missions that took a couple hours at most to complete. So, Coulson and Director Mace had let them come the Avengers facility with them. Daisy knew they had some paperwork and formalities to cover with Steve and Maria Hill, so Coulson and Mace were busy with that, while the rest of them got in as much relaxing time as they could. The facility was all decorated for the holidays. There was a big, brightly lit Christmas tree in the common room, a menorah above the fireplace that the Maximoff twins had set up. There were presents under the tree, and strands of white and colored lights strung up everywhere.

     Daisy couldn’t remember the last time she’d actually gotten to relax for the holidays. It was nice.

     “I win,” she grinned down at Bucky, forearm pressed against his neck lightly, other hand raised above him.

     He tapped the mat lightly with one hand. “Okay, okay,” he laughed. “I give.”

     Daisy pushed into a standing position, reaching out to help him up. He pushed a chunk of hair back that had fallen out of his little ponytail. She tossed him his towel, and grabbed her water bottle, taking a long drink. Finally, after days of her pestering him, he’d agreed to spar with her. She knew he was a little afraid to hurt her. But she had her powers, and she’d also been trained by May. Winter Soldier or not, Bucky didn’t stand a chance against May. They hadn’t actually tested the theory, but Daisy would bet on May any day.

            “You know,” Bucky started, taking a drink from his own water bottle, and then arching an eyebrow at her. “You told me you’d show me your powers at some point.”

            “I have shown you my powers,” she protested as they headed towards the locker room.

            “Yeah, little demonstrations,” he pointed out teasingly. Laughing, he said, “you promised, Daisy—”

            “Yeah, yeah, I know,” she laughed, giving his shoulder a little shove. “Such a nag.”

            “I think Stark finished up that simulation room, or whatever it’s called. It’s supposed to absorb powers like yours.”

            Daisy knew that the room was finished. Stark had informed her, Mace, Wanda, and some other Inhumans and powered people at the facility that it wasn’t meant for testing. Rather, it was a practice chamber, meant more to measure new SHIELD agents’ or Avengers’ powers in combat scenarios. It would simulate a scenario and Inhumans or other powered people could practice with their powers without fear of hurting other people in the vicinity.

            “We could try,” she said, trying to keep the reluctance out of her voice. She didn’t think she succeeded.

            “Hey,” Bucky said softly, touching her arm as they walked. “If you really don’t want to, we don’t have to. I didn’t mean to push. You’re just, kind of a badass, is all,” she couldn’t help the little quirk of her lips at that, “and I was just curious. But seriously, we don’t have to.”

            “It’s not that I don’t want to show you,” she admitted. “Sorry, I just, it’s still sometimes a little weird to not have people be afraid of my powers. Of me.”

            Bucky was quiet for a moment. She knew that he understood how she felt.

            “Even my friends were scared of me at one point,” she explained before he could say anything. “When I first got my powers. I mean I almost brought a whole alien city down on them.” She paused, swallowing past the lump in her throat. Those first weeks were some of the worst of her life. The not knowing, the lack of control over her own body. “I almost killed Trip. I know they don’t still feel that way, but there’s days that’s all I can think about. The fear I saw in their eyes.”

            “You and me both, doll.” Bucky said it quietly, like he meant it for himself. But Daisy heard it, and it was enough to snap her out of the slippery slope she was about to slip down.

            She smiled broadly, tipping her chin up a little so she could look at Bucky beside her. “ _Doll_ , huh? You use that on all the girls?”

            And just like that, the tense moment snapped like a wire. Bucky looked at her, eyes a little wide, and then he laughed. Threw his head back, shoulders shaking, _laughed_. He slung his human arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side. She wrapped her arm around his waist in return, not caring that they were both a little sweaty.

            “Just you, doll,” he told her, blue eyes sparkling brightly. “Just you.”

           


End file.
